1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to holders for toothbrushes, and more particularly, to a toothbrush holder especially adapted to hold a bent toothbrush.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Toothbrushes having a handle and a brush portion arranged in a substantially straight line are well known in the art. Moreover, substantially straight toothbrush holders are known for holding such straight toothbrushes.
Toothbrushes having a handle and a brush portion arranged with respect to each other at an oblique angle along a bent line are also well known in The art. A prior art holder for a bent toothbrush is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,356 of Wilkinson. A problem with this holder is that it does not fully enclose the toothbrush. The toothbrush handle sticks out of the holder. By not completely enclosing the toothbrush, dirt can readily find its way to the bristle portion. It would be desirable, therefore, if a fully enclosed holder were provided for a bent toothbrush.
Another toothbrush holder is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,708 of Aoki. This holder does not enclose the toothbrush at all.
In the prior art portable dental kit of Manfredi in U.S. Pat. No. 4,527,574, a holder is provided for a toothbrush that is separable into two parts. A single ventilation hole is provided at one end of the holder. Ventilation of the holder is important for a number of reasons. Ventilation helps the toothbrush dry even when it is in the holder. Many microorganisms grow in warm and moist locations. Wet bristles of a toothbrush enclosed in an opaque toothbrush holder may provide such a warm, moist location for microbial growth. In this respect, it would be desirable if a bent toothbrush holder were provided that permitted improved ventilation to permit wet toothbrush bristles to dry.
Many microorganisms are air-borne; that is they are present on dust particles in the air. Such dust particles carry such air-borne microorganisms may find their way to wet toothbrush bristles as the bristles are ventilated by the air. It would be desirable, therefore, if a bent toothbrush holder were provided which filtered out dust particles to prevent microorganisms carried by the dust particles to find their way to the brush bristles.
Oftentimes people develop preferences for tooth cleaning compositions. When they travel, however, obtaining their favorite tooth cleaning composition my not be practical. Instead of carrying along a separate dispenser for a tooth cleaning composition, it may be desirable to carry a portion of the tooth cleaning material along with the toothbrush itself. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,207 of Konrad et al discloses a toothbrush which has a quantity of tooth cleaning material stored in the toothbrush handle. A internal channel in the toothbrush is provided for conveying some of the tooth cleaning material to the brush bristles from the handle. This is a quite complex arrangement and is not suitable for standard, off-the-shelf toothbrushes. In this respect, it would be desirable if a bent toothbrush holder were provided which were capable of storing off-the-shelf bent toothbrushes and which included a storage compartment for holding tooth cleaning material.
The concept of using a heat source for drying is well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,880,021 of Haberstroh discloses heated hear for drying cans in a manufacturing process. The use of hair blow dryers are another example of the use heat for drying. In addition, hair blow dryers used forced air in addition to heat for drying. It this respect, it would be desirable if a bent toothbrush holder were provided that was adapted to employ heated forced air for drying the toothbrush retained in the holder.
Thus, while the foregoing body of prior art indicates it to be well known to use open toothbrush holders to store bent toothbrushes, the prior art does not disclose a simple and cost effective fully enclosed holder for a bent toothbrush. Also, the prior art does not provide satisfactory ventilation to permit wet toothbrush bristles to dry in an enclosed toothbrush holder. The prior art does not provide means for filtering out dust particles to prevent microorganisms carried by the dust particles to find their way to the brush bristles in a toothbrush holder. In addition, the prior art does not provide a holder which is capable of storing off-the-shelf bent toothbrushes and which includes a storage compartment for holding tooth cleaning material. The prior art does not provide a bent toothbrush holder that is adapted to employ heated forced air for drying the toothbrush retained in the holder. The foregoing disadvantages are overcome by the unique bent toothbrush holder apparatus of the present invention as will be made apparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.